


Catching Up

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Compliant, Genesis Lives, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, up to a certain point
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-07 14:07:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14672676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: LOVELESS connects many things, is the fate of others; sometimes it can bring back true love.





	Catching Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Saj_te_Gyuhyall](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saj_te_Gyuhyall/gifts).



> Lucky you! I’m a multi-shipper but I’m not too confident about my Gen.
> 
> Since you didn’t specify the prompt, I’m going with the most recent~ 
> 
> Tbh, this wanted to go angsty but I pulled it back. 
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> A Note: This has a bit more than the original prompt!

* * *

" _When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end-_

_The goddess descends from the sky_

_Wings of light and dark spread afar_

_She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting…"_

Cloud learned to read from his golden Mark, the silver outline of the stanza almost beautiful if it weren't for the fact that it meant memory loss intertwined with the truest of loves. 

It's written in a looping, elegant handwriting that's not Nibel, not a Western dialect of Common but, according to Mrs. Lockhart, that of the Far East; Mideelian, as he came to know after years of asking traveling hunters only the first line. 

He knew it was the opening to an epic poem and play. LOVELESS was a hero's ballad but it ended too ambiguously for Cloud to like it all that much. He knew it all, just in case they really did love it. He wanted to be a good soulmate, understanding even if he didn't quite get it. He was fifteen when the lure of ShinRa grew too great to ignore. Perhaps he'd find them there, his memory-tangled soulmate. 

* * *

" _Trying to unweave, unwind, unravel_

_And piece together the past and future,_

_Between midnight and dawn, when the past is all deception,_

_The future futureless, before the morning watch_

_When time stops and time is never ending;_

_And the ground swell, that is and was from the beginning,_

_Clangs_

_The bell."_

Genesis had known that his soulmate isn't exactly within reaching distance for years. It's written in a Western dialect and yet, and yet not only can Genesis understand it, the words themselves, written in a blocky, neat handwriting, don't make sense outside of the poem they belong to; it's old and decidedly Western. 

No Far Easter would be caught dead reading Western poetry, modeled on things like epic poems. But here Genesis was, reading it; he wanted to know what his soulmate was reading, so bite him. 

The poem's about water, the river, the sea and somehow, Genesis knew his soulmate had seen neither. 

He's got it propped open on one knee, pencap in his mouth as he chewed thoughtfully, translating that verse from Western to Eastern Common. 

They said that you knew when your soulmate was on the same continent as you, that you knew each other at first sight, first breath. 

What utter nonsense.

* * *

Cloud was seasick and then motion-sick for most of his trip to Midgar; a hell he didn't care to repeat multiple times. He hoped that Mako might be able to cure that most damnening of sicknesses. 

He did, however, notice the feeling that he was getting closer to his soulmate. 

The words heated up the closer he got to Midgar, practically glowing through his thick t-shirt he wore strictly for that purpose. Cloud slapped his hand over it and nearly yanked his hand back with a yelp; they were burning at this point. 

"Kid, you okay?" The truck driver asked, knowing that Cloud was in the back due to his sickness and the easy ability to ralf over the side.

"Might... be...? My Mark's...ahh..." 

"Oh! They must be in Midgar then. Congrats! Is it hot 'r cold?" 

"Burning." He managed. 

"Oh yeah, that'd be extra close. Hold on, I'll try to make this quick."

* * *

Cloud almost collapsed on the desk for the SOLDIER Cadet registry. At this point, his Mark had long since passed the burning stage and had ignited the shirt more than once. 

"Whoa, kid, you can't-Oh! Oi, Gosser, pick him up and take him through ShinRa?Gently, mind you." 

"Is he having a-" 

"Resonance. Yup. Damn, haven't had one of those in a while." 

Cloud groaned softly as Gosser picked him up gently and began a trot that was soothing and not even close to painful.

* * *

Genesis thought he knew cold; thought he'd be able to take it when it hit him as hard as it did. 

He'd expected fire. 

Angeal was carrying him, but stopped dead in his tracks as, Gosser-judging by the sweat and swearing-also stopped. 

"I think I have what he needs," the Third offered a little out-of-breath. 

"Oh? A Resonance, huh? You two must be damn good for each other." 

Genesis got the impression of blond, young and very hot temperature-wise before they touched. 

He doesn't remember much after that, frankly.

* * *

Cloud came to slowly, surprised at the arms surrounding him but they didn't feel bad and he felt _safe_ so he snuggled forward and felt the arms tighten to a degree that made him squeak. 

The arms shifted and Cloud looked up into the eyes of one of ShinRa's Generals. 

The Phoenix of the Battlefield, General Rhapsodos, SOLDIER First Class. 

The only thing going through his mind was, " _Trying to unweave, unwind, unravel_..." 

"" _When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end-_ " General Rhapsodos answered, his longer fingers tugging Cloud's collar down to see the silver-laced gold prologue of LOVELESS. "Ah." 

Cloud tugged aside the sweater, seeing his favorite lines of poetry stamped out in solid gold with the heaviest outline of bright red Cloud had ever seen in his life. True and unconditional love on his part. 

Which meant that he was going to forget this, somehow, someday. 

"I'm Cloud, by the way." He offered as he traced the cool Nibel letters. 

"Genesis, but I think you know that already. This is terribly awkward and terribly forward but-" 

"I turn sixteen in August." Cloud snorted. "There's a gap of four years, ten months and a day." 

"You're quick on the draw." The admiration Cloud heard caused him to blush. 

"Have to be, if I wanna get into SOLDIER," he countered. "All the more reasons now, huh? Gotta catch up to my soulmate." 

"Catch up?" Genesis frowned at that, his hold wrapping Cloud up in warmth. 

"I've got four years. I made a promise to myself and someone else before I left Nibelhiem." Cloud admitted. "Will you be waiting?" 

"Of course."

* * *

Cloud, it turned out, had a hell of a time getting into the SOLDIER Program. 

It took him a record amount of tries to pass the physical exam; fifty-three and each as painful as the last to watch. 

Genesis didn't relax the standards and Angeal watched in curiosity and eventually sympathy as Cloud hit the dirt for the last time, determination in his gaze. 

When Cloud passed the finish line, he promptly turned around and helped the straggling Cadets, each of whom had twenty-seven and fifteen tries, respectively. 

He grinned when Genesis strolled down to the finish line. "So, do I pass or am I getting ready for my next attempt?" 

"Next?!" The Cadet next to him wheezed. "Strife, that was your fifty-third attempt!"

"Yeah, and?" 

"That's General Rhapsodos?!" 

"He's also my soulmate." 

The looks of concern they shot Cloud made him laugh. 

Out of the two of them, it was Cloud who was the more frightening one; Cloud had aced most of the Program's tests and the only thing that had held him up was the physical test. 

Most of the SOLDIER Squads were actively helping Cloud because he looked small and adorable but Ramuh help you if you decided he was cute enough to hit on. 

The amount of photos showing Genesis the human equivalent of a Western pretzel only proved his point, after all. 

Cloud loved five things unconditionally; his Ma, Genesis, his sword, his bike and Zack because you couldn't escape loving Zack, even if he was obnoxious on his worst days. 

That was, of course, when it all went to hell.

* * *

**-Post-Deepground-**

Cloud knew his soulmate was obsessed with LOVELESS. That much was clear, the Mideelian script curling in loops and elegant swirls to capture the prologue of the poem which had somehow echoed the fall of ShinRa. 

It wasn't Tifa's, her script somehow swirling up the side of Rude's neck. 

It wasn't anyone in AVALANCHE, not even in the more distant branches. 

He knew he'd lost years, more than he knew and Tifa could only offer him a man with red hair that was greying at the tips. She'd also mentioned, reluctantly, that he bore a set of wings similar enough to Sephiroth's on his left side. 

Today he was determined to ask a recovering Tseng what he knew about that, the man having been there for a majority of the events and whose memory was far better than his own at this point. 

Cloud hated admitting weakness but it was past time he found his soulmate.

* * *

Tseng, ensconced in a bed, rose a brow at Cloud's visit to Healin Lodge. 

"Look, AVALANCHE and Turks may not be friends but we're... allies." Cloud started reluctantly. 

"You need something." came the laconic response. 

"Now I know where Vincent gets it from; damn Turks never let anyone waffle. Yeah, I need your help." He rolled his eyes and unzipped his shirt, peeling it back to reveal his Mark. 

"My, my, that seems a tad personal-Silver. You've forgotten them." Tseng's voice carried no pity but there was certainly a faint sympathy. 

Silver was almost always painful, no matter what had happened before it. 

"All Tifa was able to give me was a red-haired man with grey tips and wings like Sephiroth, only on his left side." Cloud admitted point-blank. "I figured with your memory being better than mine at this point, you'd know who it is I'm looking for." 

"Now there's a man I haven't thought about for years. He technically started it all; General Rhapsodos and his friend General Hewley were the first to desert ShinRa, prompting that of Sephiroth and Major Fair." Tseng replied thoughtfully. 

Cloud got a flash of dark hair from the name Hewley, red hair, not greying, and a laugh that sounded like a seal from Rhapsodos. 

The ache in his chest at the mention of Zack prompted, "We both know that was bullshit. Zack would never do anything against his personal code of honor." 

"... True. We were supposed to bring you in quietly, have you evaluated and released as a SOLDIER First and Second, respectively. Unfortunately, we mobilized later than the Infantry." Tseng sounded... He sounded like he was sorry. 

"Then you'll help?" He prodded. 

"We... owe you that much, Hero." Tseng murmured eventually. 

"Ugh, not you _too_." Cloud groaned as he leaned back in his seat.

* * *

Shelke was surprisingly helpful about telling them that yes, at some point Deepground had held a man fitting that description, though not with grey tips. 

A lot had happened between various points to where she could only point them in the vague direction of the facility. 

Cloud picked up a whiff of Rhapsodos and followed it to a scrap of red, dusty leather. 

He picked it up, inhaling softly and feeling, somehow, like that scent was home. 

Specifically the home Sephiroth had destroyed, years and years ago. 

"Tseng, is the ShinRa-built town still there?" Cloud asked when Tseng picked up his PHS. 

"In regards to which town?"

"Nibelhiem." 

"It receives regular shipments so I don't see why not. They're not mountain folk, not yet." 

"Won't be for about three generations." Cloud snorted. "I'm gonna go teach them our actual customs." 

"Does this have to do with a red-haired someone?" 

"... Figure it out, Tseng. You're a smart man." He murmured as he hung up.

* * *

Fenrir idled in front of the cheap imitation of Nibelhiem as it had been, Cloud in a bubble of people that parted around him as he parked his bike in front of the house that had belonged to the Strifes, once upon a time. 

The mailbox had Strife on it, the same loop as that on his chest made him inhale sharply. 

He clomped up the stairs and knocked on the door, hoping against hope that his soulmate would open the door. 

The man paled at the sight of him but Cloud only smiled and the poem left his lips as though graced by Minerva herself:

" _Trying to unweave, unwind, unravel_

_And piece together the past and future,_

_Between midnight and dawn, when the past is all deception,_

_The future futureless, before the morning watch_

_When time stops and time is never ending;_

_And the ground swell, that is and was from the beginning,_

_Clangs_

_The bell."_

The man threw himself into Cloud's arms and sobbed into his shoulder, the recently chopped hair smelling of water and ligonberry, Cloud's favorite fruit.

" _When the war of the beasts brings about the world's end-_

_The goddess descends from the sky_

_Wings of light and dark spread afar_

_She guides us to bliss, her gift everlasting…"_

The lines awoke his memories; laughing at stupid antics, Cloud muddy and dirty from patrol with Zack, baking and shooing Gen out of the kitchen since he burned water— "Oh, **Gene _sis._** " 

"Cloud, _my_ stubborn, sweet Cloud..." 

They had a lot of catching up to do, it seemed.

**Author's Note:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


End file.
